18 December 2012

Two Catholic Parishes Violently Vandalized by Man with Sledgehammer

One of these two parishes, Our Lady of Prompt Succor, has for its pastor Father Edward Richard, the well-known moral theologian formerly on the faculty of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary of St. Louis.The news story reports that this man had a history of violence and police think he was under the influence of drugs. I wonder. Certainly he was under the influence of something. The report claims he said God wanted him to destroy statues.

He started at Fr. Richard's parish and was caught in the act of destroying statues at another Catholic parish. Many of these statues were quite old, and irreplaceable. In between, he apparently broke the glass doors of two places belonging to the Baptist and Methodist sects, but did not damage anything inside. No statues there, is my guess.Stories here and here. Video at the second link. Photos above of some of the damage, and of the alleged perpetrator.

4 comments:

Christophe, I don't think it is-- meaning, I don't think anything should be a hate crime. It is simply a way to punish a person's thoughts, beliefs, or speech. The underlying action, such as burglary or vandalism or trespass, is already a crime. The hate crime is an arbitrary way to punish the government's perceived enemies. So, even here, when punishing this bit of hate, as the state must call it to avoid charges of unfairness when it punishes racists or anti- homosexuals, the state acts unjustly.

My bad, Timman, I didn't read the linked article to notice that it has indeed been charged as a hate crime. There was no sarcasm font, but I was trying to make the point that hate crimes would have been charged had this been a mosque, synagogue, Masonic temple, ethical society, Planned Parenthood mill, etc. I agree with you, there should be no hate crimes. (Although, in a Catholic state, sacrilege would be a crime.)

A Day That Will Live in Glory

Pray for the Four Cardinals: Burke, Caffarra, Meiser and Brandmuller

“You are the ones who are happy; you who remain within the Church by your Faith, who hold firmly to the foundations of the Faith which has come down to you from Apostolic Tradition. And if an execrable jealousy has tried to shake it on a number of occasions, it has not succeeded. They are the ones who have broken away from it in the present crisis. No one, ever, will prevail against your Faith, beloved Brothers. And we believe that God will give us our churches back some day."